Sugar-based confections include, for example, gums; jellies; high boils; low boils; fat; and milk-based confections such as toffees, fondants, fudges and caramels. Gums and jellies are hydrocolloid based confectioneries in which hydrocolloid ingredients determine the shape, stability, and texture of the confection. Examples of gums and jellies include, winegums, hard pastilles, soft and foamed gums, fruit leathers, lemon slices, Turkish delights, gummy bears, jelly babies, and the like. By varying the hydrocolloid system in the confection it is possible to obtain considerable variation in the texture of the confection.
Traditionally, sugar-based hydrocolloid confections are manufactured by preparing a fluid mass having a medium to high amount of total solids, i.e., about 60 to 80 percent total solids (TS), from a liquor or slurry of confectionery-based ingredients that typically includes sugar and optionally one or more of hydrocolloids, fats, milk solids, and the like and cooking the slurry. The resulting cooked fluid mass is then deposited into molds. Typically, the molds are made of starch powder.
The liquor is prepared from a sugar syrup, for example, by metering the proper amount of sugar and other ingredients into water and mixing the ingredients to make a cold-mix slurry. The cold-slurry mix is then heated until the ingredients are fully dissolved and then further cooked by open pan boiling or alternatively by other means such as, for example, in a jet cooker, coil cooker, plate or tubular heat exchanger, or cooker extruder. The cooking time and specifics of the operation will vary depending on such factors as, for example, the type of cooking equipment, the ingredients in the formulation, and the concentration of the ingredients.
After the slurry has been cooked starch molding is used to reduce the moisture content of the final product and to shape the product to its final configuration. The technique of starch molding involves forming mold impressions in powdered starch and depositing the cooked mass or slurry into the molds to form the confectionery products. The molds are then put aside and, generally, are placed in a drying stove to reduce the moisture content of the confectionery product to the desired level. The drying time may be up to several days depending on the product. The moisture content of the cooked mass is substantially higher than the moisture content of the final product. Typically, the moisture content of the cooked mass is between about 20 and 35 percent while the moisture content of the final product is typically between about 10 and 20 percent. This technique of manufacturing confectionery products is commonly known as the Mogul system and is the production method that is conventionally used to manufacture hydrocolloid-based confections with a high solids content, i.e., a total solids content above about 80 percent. Starch molding, however, can also be used to form sugar confectionery masses that are not hydrocolloid-based confections but have a high total solids content, such as, for example, high boiled sugar masses that typically have up to 5 percent moisture; sugar fondant masses that typically have up to 10 percent moisture; and low boiled caramel, fudge, and chew masses that typically have up to 12 percent moisture. GB 2 249 934 A discloses a method for producing a starch jelly confectionery product using the starch molding technique. The traditional starch molding method, as briefly described above, however, is costly due the fact that the process is time consuming, energy consuming, labor intensive and requires large amounts of storage space.
Another technique used to manufacture confectionery products is known as starchless molding. Starchless molding can be used to make various types of confections. The starchless molding method is best suited for producing hydrocolloid-based confections that have a relatively low solids content because the high viscosities of more concentrated liquors prohibits efficient depositing. For example, starchless molding can be used to make hydrocolloid-based confections with a solid content of less than about 85 percent. High-boiled confections with a higher solid content but that do not include gelling hydrocolloids to determine texture, however, may also be obtained with this method. In the starchless molding method the cooked mass has the same total solid content as the final shaped product. The cooked confection mass is deposited into series of teflon-coated molds or flexible silicone rubber or metallic molds that have been sprayed with a releasing agent. Typically, the molds are then passed through a cooling tunnel before the confectinery product is removed from the mold. Specific ejecting means are usually necessary to remove the shaped confectionery products from the molds. A wide range of confections may be produced by this method such as, for example, soft winegums, jelly bears, high-boils, low boils, caramels, fondants, fudges, and the like.
The starchless molding method, however, is restricted in scope to confections that contain hydrocolloids that have quick-setting properties, such as pectin, so that the hydrocoloid sets during the rapid cooling so that the confectionery product can be removed from the mold. The method is not applicable, or is less useful, for a large majority of hydrocolloids, such as gelatin and starch, that are slow to set. Another difficulty with the method is that it can be difficult to cleanly deposit the low moisture hydrocolloid liquors into the molds due to their high viscosity. Furthermore, removing the confectionery product from the molding can also be a problem unless sufficient release agent is used. The type of molds used in the process is also critical; generally, the mold must be a relatively flexible mold to facilitate the release of the shaped mass.
Thus, there remains a need for a method to make sugar-based confections that avoids the aforementioned drawbacks of the known methods.